ABSTRACT
The work of the artist Cameron Jamie has been referred to as 'backyard anthropology' for the way it documents aspects of popular culture such as amateur backyard wrestling, Halloween decorations in the suburban US, and the annual Krampus ritual in Austria. When the work was exhibited in the UK under the auspices of ArtAngel, who commissioned the piece as part of a trilogy of films, it was shown on a giant screen in large venues accompanied by a loud 'grunge' soundtrack courtesy of the cult band The Melvins. Anthropologists have a long history of focusing their research and fieldwork endeavours on an understanding of ritual, and it has certainly been a key trope in anthropological filmmaking. An anthropological version, although it would most likely have provided far more in the way of context, would, in doing so, have in many ways detached the people from the event rather than seeking to immerse them in it.
